Ecommerce

Amazon Expands Fulfillment Network with 3 New Centres Ahead of Festive Season Sale

• ByStartupStory     |    September 18, 2024

Ahead of the highly anticipated festive season, Amazon India has announced the launch of three new fulfillment centres located in Delhi NCR, Guwahati, and Patna. This strategic expansion aims to support over 2.5 lakh sellers in the region and bolster the company’s logistics capabilities as it gears up for its annual Great Indian Festival sale.

The new fulfillment centres will collectively offer 1.2 million cubic feet of storage space, enhancing the ability of sellers to meet growing customer demands. Additionally, this expansion is expected to create thousands of job opportunities across the region.

Amazon India is set to kick off its Great Indian Festival sale on September 26, aligning its launch date with rival Flipkart. Meanwhile, Meesho will commence its festive season sale on September 27.

Abhinav Singh, Vice President of Operations at Amazon India, commented on the new facilities, “We have added three new fulfilment centres to our existing pan-India operations network that consists of over 43 Mn cubic feet of storage space, sort centres in 19 states, about 2,000 delivery stations, Amazon Air, our partnerships with Indian Railways, India Post and much more.”

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma also weighed in, saying, “I hope that with this capacity building, Amazon will now be better equipped to benefit millions of local retailers, which in turn will contribute to the Indian economy.”

In preparation for the festive season, Amazon India recently announced the creation of over 1.1 lakh seasonal job opportunities across its operations network to accommodate increased customer demand.

However, the announcement comes amid ongoing criticism and legal scrutiny. A recent survey by workers’ collectives UNI Global Union highlighted concerns over ‘unsafe conditions’ and insufficient pay for Amazon India’s warehouse and delivery workers. Additionally, the Competition Commission of India (CCI) is still engaged in a legal battle with Amazon and Flipkart, accusing them of violating competition laws by giving preferential treatment to select sellers on their platforms. The CCI alleged that preferred sellers on Amazon received an advantage in online listings, drawing more customer attention.

Looking ahead, Amazon is exploring the potential separation of Amazon Pay from its main app, considering the launch of a standalone app for its payment services. The company is also planning to introduce its quick commerce services in India in the first quarter of the next year, following Flipkart’s recent launch of Flipkart Minutes in select cities.

Last year, during the Great Indian Festival sale, Amazon India reported that over 38,000 sellers achieved their highest-ever single-day sales. The festive season saw a gross merchandise value (GMV) of approximately INR 47,000 crore, reflecting a 19% year-on-year growth in the first week of the sale.

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